8 Tips for Making the Most of Lessons After a Break

The first couple of lessons when you come back from a break can be a little challenging. Your students probably didn’t practice much (possibly not at all) over their break. The younger the student, the greater the chances are that they have regressed in skill. Your more advanced students might have let some of their repertoire slip. What are some tips for getting back in the routine and making the most of those first couple lessons back after break?

1. Spend a few minutes catching up with them.

They’re probably full of stories and excited to tell you all about their break! The teacher-student relationship is unique and gets to be about more than just music. We have the special privilege of hearing about their lives in a unique context and its important for them to know we care about them for more than just how well they play in the lesson. I personally love hearing their stories about what they did! You learn so much about what is important to them.

2. Play games.

This is a tried and true teacher trick. Students love to play games, and teachers get to sneak in some learning! Try mixing it up with some regular games, like checkers or cards, but create new rules that incorporate that new scale they’re learning, or naming all the sharps in the correct order, etc. Let them help you create the new rules.

3. Practice scales, arpeggios, and chord progressions.

Use these simple exercises and others to reinforce more complex concepts. For example, even a scale can be played with dynamics. Talk about making the scale crescendo on the way up and diminuendo on the way down. Now try it the opposite way. Using something familiar, like a scale, means they don’t have to focus on learning a new sequence of notes or worry about fingering, and they can isolate that individual concept of dynamics.

4. Do ear training exercises.

Kids get really excited by ear training exercises, and it’s incredibly important to be developing this skill as early as possible. Practice a few intervals, or keep it super simple with dynamics. A fun activity is to listen to a famous classical piece together. Before you listen, choose a few specific elements (a dynamic change, a fast section, a long note, etc.), and then as you’re listening, the student can practice identifying those specific elements.

5. Learn by Rote.

Even if it’s only a few bars of something, students feel a great sense of accomplishment if they can play something new when they go home. Learning it by rote takes out the pressure of reading notation, which is stressful for beginners.

6. Play an old piece.

Let them play their recital piece if they want to. Some will be tired of it already, but a lot of young students are excited to show you that they still know their piece. I saw one of my youngest students on New Year’s Eve and he went straight to the piano to play Away in a Manger, proud that he still remembered it a month after our recital. It will only take a couple of minutes in the lesson, but they will be pleased and it still gets them making music in the lesson.

7. Review theory pages.

Although theory might not be as glamorous, it is important. It can be easy to fall a little behind on theory in the last minute preparations for the recital and the end of a semester. Combine some of these tips by assigning a fun music theory activity to test your student's memory!

8. Choose new repertoire.

All of the examples above can be modified as necessary and made more difficult for your advanced students. But one thing specific to more advanced students is choosing new repertoire. You may give your beginning students limited choices in the pieces they play, but the more advanced your student gets, the more collaborative the process becomes. You can spend time in the first lesson back looking at choices and listening to recordings, if you’re choosing by sound. It also provides a fun opportunity to discuss what technical challenges or benefits each piece has. It’s a vital skill for your advanced students to be able to identify these elements by looking through a piece, even before they’ve had a chance to play through it.

Getting back into a routine after a break can be challenging for teachers and students. It can feel like you’ve lost all progress and momentum, and are spending too much time reviewing. But there are several simple ways to still make the most of lessons as you get back into a routine while still making progress and reinforcing important concepts. Remember to help your students have fun, have fun yourself, and you’re well on your way! What tips & tricks do you have for those first few lessons after a break?